METALLICA “Through The Never (Music From The Motion Picture)” /2CD; Live/

Soundtrack album of the legendary American Thrash/Heavy Metal band.The biggest Metal band in the world returns with its second motion picture, the follow-up to the in-therapy documentary "Some Kind Of Monster". And this is soundtrack album for the film "Through The Never". Album was released on September 24, 2013 via Blackened Recordings, the own label by Metallica. All tracks on the soundtrack are live recordings from the 2012 Canada shows Metallica performed for the "Through The Never" film shoot, with the exception of "Orion" that was recorded live at soundcheck.When Metallica first planned the ambitious full-length movie project, "Metallica: Through the Never", a lot of people were very curious about what the band would come up with. Many assumed it would just be concert footage edited together, which it was with the twist of having a truly bizarre storyline running intermittently throughout the video. The soundtrack itself are some prime cuts of live tracks which were used in the film. The album consists of 16 tracks lasting over 100 minutes. The album opens with "The Ecstasy of Gold," which is appropriate as this has been their standard opener for years. Next up is a rousing rendition of "Creeping Death" which is only marred by a poorly recorded chorus provided by the audience members. Next up is "For Whom the Bell Tolls," which uses audience participation very briefly. The vocal reverb/delay used on the live version of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" is what really makes the track stand out, and the guitar solo seems to have a "freak out" moment by Kirk. "Fuel" is next, and oddly what is a pyrotechnic going off in the first few seconds of the song provides an odd addition to the percussion. The performance of the song was energetic except for an odd instrumental stumble at about 45 seconds in, but the band did recovery very quickly. "Ride the Lightning" came up next, and went pretty well with the exception of James sounding like he couldn't remember some of the lyrics for a few seconds. "One" starts out using audio clips of explosions, helicopters and gunfire which goes on for almost 2 minute unaccompanied by any music until the opening riff finally comes in. "The Memory Remains" starts out with some "playful banter" with James and the crowd, but quickly builds to a very energetic performance with the most successful audience participation on the album. "Wherever I May Roam" was a pretty straightforward live performance with the audience singing the line "wherever I may roam" along with James. "Cyanide" is most notable for having a very awesome bass tone audible through most of the track and making me wonder what equipment/settings Robert was using. You can also tell that the band is way more used to playing this newer material, as their playing is tighter than on some previous tracks. "...And Justice for All" was next up. "Master of Puppets" was performed with a great surge of energy by the band and the audience's enthusiasm. "Battery" is another track where the pyrotechnics provide some unexpected percussion. "Nothing Else Matters" started out with about two minutes of guitar noodling, that while interesting was also a little confusing. By the time the actual intro to "Nothing Else Matters" came in. "Enter Sandman" was next up and started out with Kirk initially playing around too much with his wah pedal, but quickly turned into a very tight performance, pyrotechnics included. "Hit the Lights" starts out with some general noodling and banter with the audience but grows into another very energetic performance. The album closes out with a rendition of "Orion," managing to be both a very tight performance as well as having good energy - making it the perfect performance to close out the album.A live album is good for recreating the experience of the concert, probably especially for people actually present at that specific concert. What you want from a live album is to be made to feel a part of the concert; to feel like you are there!Blackened Recordings /Vertigo/Universal Music International B.V., 2013 (375156-2). Made in Germany. First press.